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Dream Theater => Concerts and Set Lists => Topic started by: Dream Team on November 15, 2017, 08:37:45 AM

Title: Albany
Post by: Dream Team on November 15, 2017, 08:37:45 AM
Was there last night wife and adult daughters. Place was packed which was great to see.

One of the coolest things was that Rena and her daughter were sitting 2 rows in front of me to the left. Guys in front of me recognized her too. She and JP made gestures to each other several times. She filmed several parts on her phone. During intermission it looked like she was looking for something that had fallen, a ring maybe.

James was about what I expected. Nailed some sections, struggled with others. He crushed the F# and some other difficult parts and whenever he did the 2 guys in front of me would turn to each other and nod. Ridicously difficult stuff to sing and I give him major kudos for agreeing to these I&W tours. Oh yeah, they omitted DLPM, not sure why maybe curfew issues or James nixed it? Also seemed like he held back quite a bit in the first set so he could really deliver in the second set.

Sound was very good, Jordan’s highest notes were a little loud, and James was sometimes too low especially in the breathy parts. His banter was goofy as we know and I could have done without the f-bombs in a family setting, I thought that had departed with MP.

I had waited 13 years to finally get ACOS live and it didn’t’ disappoint. That and the entire Images set was the highlight for me. So so tight with MM anchoring things, he was incredible as usual.

Overall fantastic night.
Title: Re: Albany
Post by: Sputterdude on November 15, 2017, 01:44:14 PM
My first DT show in several years (because of my schedule, not lack of desire).  Glad I "took the time" to attend in Albany (2 hr drive for me, not bad at all).  The venue was nice and I thought the sound was done well.  Overall I was able to enjoy what was going on and hear what I wanted to hear without thinking about or being distracted by the mix.  I wore earplugs for most of it just because that is my preference.   Here and there, and during the whole of A Change of Seasons the plugs came out because I wanted to channel every decibel they had to give.

That fuchsia sparkle guitar JP brought out during To Live Forever was quite a statement.  It seemed more striking under all the lights compared to pictures, but I guess that's true of a lot of things.  I was having gear envy the whole night seeing so many of his guitars.

I enjoyed the JLB stories and wandering around stage.  I don't get too worked up about how well he hit every vocal part, it was fine with me.  I read a few comments that it felt like a retirement send off for I&W or something to that effect .  I got a little of that vibe, particularly during Surrounded, not sure why.

Highlights for me:
Hell's Kitchen was something I've always wanted to see live, glad it was included.
I unexpectedly really enjoyed Wait for Sleep, not a song I would have put on a wish set list but in context of the entire I&W and something subtle about how JR played it brought it to life in a new way for me.  The number of times I listened to I&W start to end back in 1992-1994 easily numbers >200.  I think I became most nostalgic during Wait For Sleep and that contributed to my enjoyment.
The Bigger Picture, I just like it.
A Change of Seasons was pretty much out of this world good. 

It was a good Tuesday night.
Title: Re: Albany
Post by: DT2003 on November 16, 2017, 05:24:43 PM
James was sometimes too low especially in the breathy parts. His banter was goofy as we know and I could have done without the f-bombs in a family setting, I thought that had departed with MP.

Yeah it was a bit odd to see James dropping f-bombs like that. I kind of get the impression he’s trying a bit too hard to appeal to a younger crowd between that and the tattoo and the black dyed hair. I made a joke to my friend that he must be going through a mid life crisis or something.